Developing good money habits from an early age helps youth learn how to make smart financial decisions in the future. A debit card can help you teach your teen valuable financial skills such as checkbook balancing, spending within their means, and making wise financial decisions.
Read on to learn more about our debit card option for youth, why some parents choose to get their teen a debit card, and what you’ll need to consider as you and your teen mark this financial milestone.
Why Get a Debit Card for Your Teen?
Getting your teen a debit card in their name when you’re a joint owner on their account can give them valuable experience with money management while giving you peace of mind about the safety of your teen’s finances. Getting a debit card for a teen 13 and older will allow them to:
- Learn Healthy Financial Habits: Throughout their lifetime, your teen will use the financial skills you teach them. The more they learn about debit cards, ATMs, balancing a checkbook, and wise spending habits, the more practice they’ll have in building their skills and making smart decisions throughout adulthood.
- Easily Deposit Allowances, Gifts, and More: If your teen is given cash or a check for an allowance, birthday, or other occasion, they can deposit it directly into their own account.
- Understand the Importance of Account Security: Having a debit card is a big responsibility, but it offers a great way to teach your teen about the importance of keeping their money safe. Show them the features of their account and debit card, such as locking their card if they’ve temporarily misplaced it, creating a secure PIN that’s not easy to guess, and keeping their card in a safe place.
PSECU Account Options for Youth
Our goal is to help you set up your teen’s financial future and teach them smart money management skills they can use over their lifetime. We offer two account types that you can choose from, including an account that grants your teen their own debit card access, if desired.
Once your teen turns 13, you have the opportunity to give them financial independence with a regular account. You can choose to be a joint owner on the account for greater control and supervision of your teen’s finances, or you can encourage them to open their own account.
Both the youth and any joint owners are eligible for PSECU debit cards in their own names with a checking account. For security, both cards will share the same PIN. When you're applying for PSECU membership with your child who is 13 or older, they can simply select the option to include a debit card with their checking account.
If your child already has a regular account with us and they'd like to add a debit card, they can do so in online banking by following the steps below:
- Select Menu in the upper left corner of the screen.
- Under Accounts, click Add a Product.
- Choose Visa Debit Card.
- Review profile information and press Next.
- Follow the prompts on the screen, including selecting a 4-digit PIN and ordering additional cards, if desired.
- A confirmation page will display once you've completed and submitted all necessary information.
A custodial account is a type of account that an adult 18 or older opens on a teen’s behalf. The adult does not need to be a PSECU member to open the account, but the teen does need to be eligible for membership. While the money in the account belongs to the teen, the custodian handles the account’s withdrawals, deposits, and account access. Please note that your teen can’t have access to their own debit card with a custodial account.
With either account type, until your teen turns 18, they can enjoy a special 4.00% APY* on savings account balances of up to $500.00. If their balance goes above $500.00, the remainder of the balance above $500.00 will earn dividends based on our Regular share rate.
Things to Consider When Getting Your 13-Year-Old a Debit Card
If you think it might be time to get your teen a debit card, here are a couple of things to keep in mind.
- Responsibility: Is your teen prepared for the responsibility of handling their own funds? If they’re not already familiar with money management, sit down with them to talk about this new responsibility before setting up their account. Make sure they understand that they can’t spend more than they have and that they’re mindful of not overdrawing their account. We offer Overdraft Protection Transfer Service and Courtesy Pay Service. You should explain how both work and make them aware that every financial institution may handle overdrafts differently.
- Fees: Be sure to do your research on any fees associated with a checking account before you create an account for your teen.
Teach Your Teen Financial Responsibility with PSECU
It’s never too early to teach your teen how to manage their money responsibility.
Explore your teen’s options today to open an account and start them on the road to good money management, or contact us for more information.
APY denotes Annual Percentage Yield. To be eligible for the Youth Savings rate, the primary account owner must be under the age of 18. All eligible Youth Savings Share accounts earn 4.00% APY for balances of $.01 to $500.00. For balances of $500.01 and over, the Regular Savings Share APY will apply. Rates and information are subject to change at any time. Fees could reduce earnings on the account(s). The disclosed dividend rates are variable and may change after the member opens the account(s). Find our current dividend rates at psecu.com/rates. PSECU requires a $5 minimum balance to open and maintain a Regular share account. This $5 share account deposit is also required to be eligible to receive the Youth Savings rate, and the member must be in good standing as defined by PSECU's Bylaws, Article II, Section I. PSECU will make a $5 minimum share purchase on behalf of the member.